Chapter 466: Chapter 466. Cousin

    Somewhere inside one of the rebels’ secret hideouts, Pan Lohuan, Ni Lulu, and Luan Xuan, the three rebel elders, gathered to discuss recent events.

    "This is a serious failure," Ni Lulu said. "We used up a secret weapon, which we recovered with hardship from an ancient ruin but got the opposite result instead."

    "Yeah. What did I tell you? We shouldn’t have let your nephew use that Nightmare Hell Prison," Luan Xuan told Pan Lohuan.

    "Xisheng sacrificed himself for our cause. We can’t blame him," Pan Lohuan uttered. "We agreed by the majority when he presented his plan to us. It sounded good enough. He was just unlucky."

    "Unlucky? He should have refrained from activating the Nightmare Hell Prison once the thirteenth prince suspected and announced his intention to incinerate the city," Luan Xuan said. "Its usage is meant to blame the kingdom. If everyone knows he activated it intentionally, all the blame falls on us."

    "It has happened. There is nothing we can do about it," Pan Lohuan said. He turned to Ni Lulu and asked, "How bad is the situation?"

    "Very," Ni Lulu answered. "We have become public enemy number one. Many affiliates who used to be willing to do business with us have now shut their doors. In some extreme cases, they even reported us. We have had several of our operatives caught by the kingdom because of that."

    "Some clans who have expressed desires to join us have backed down," Luan Xuan added. "I don’t need to mention about those who are still on the fences. We can forget about trying to recruit them."

    Pan Lohuan heaved a long sigh. "This is truly a setback. After all the momentum we gained from destroying Qishurg City... Fuxiang City is supposed to help further our cause. It instead pulls us back to before Qishurg City."

    "I’m afraid to say we are in a worse position than before Qishurg City," Ni Lulu said. "The thirteenth prince capitalized on this incident to smear us. His action in quelling the uprising and taking center stage in rebuilding Fuxiang City garnered a lot of public support. Before Fuxiang City, I don’t think many people knew about his existence. Now, he is like this country’s superstar."

    "There are also a lot of bad rumors about us circulating everywhere. I think they are spread by kingdom operatives to capitalize on the situation," Luan Xuan informed.

    "I have instructed our people to lay low for now. It is not advantageous for us to do anything with the current state," Ni Lulu uttered.

    Pan Lohuan nodded. "That will be for the best. Sigh... Too bad we only found one Nightmare Hell Prison. If only our experts can duplicate it..."

    "The enchantment is made from interconnecting talismans inside a special contraption. The materials and engraving techniques used to create it are too advanced. We have better luck trying to find another one in ancient ruins," Ni Lulu said.

    "Do you think we can find a second ruin that served as an ancient prison?" Luan Xuan asked. "That enchantment was originally meant for automated prison. If anyone tried to breach the barrier, it would incinerate the whole prison. I don’t think ancient people built many places like that."

    "No, I don’t think we will get a discovery like that again," Pan Lohuan said. "How about the investigation to find Sui Kui’s contact? Is there any progress?"

    Sui Kui shook her head. "No clues on that. Sui Kui has completely disappeared. We can’t find any trace of him."

    "The prick has probably fled to another country," Luan Xuan said.

    "I didn’t expect him to overpower the two cultivators I sent to tail him," Pan Lohuan uttered.

    "He didn’t have the power to do that. He must have a helper," Ni Lulu said.

    "Maybe it’s his contact who possessed the Allure Beacon," Luan Xuan speculated. "The two had probably fled the country together."

    "Why? I thought his contact had a grudge against the kingdom as well. What else was his purpose to use the Allure Beacon on Qishurg City?" Ni Lulu asked.

    "We will never know until we find Sui Kui or his contact," Pan Lohuan said. "If you haven’t found anything about them by now, any trail there is has already gone cold. Forget them. We will focus our efforts on targeting more ancient ruins in the hope of finding something useful like the Nightmare Hell Prison again."

    "Okay, but we can’t move much for now. Like I said, it’s wiser for us to lay low. We can..."

    Ni Lulu’s speech was interrupted when someone knocked on the door they were in.

    "What is it? I thought I had ordered not to disturb us," Pan Lohuan told the people outside.

    "I’m sorry, master. Someone came here, and he wants to speak with Mistress Ni. I think you will want to meet him," the one behind the door answered.

    "Who?" Ni Lulu asked.

    "Ni Zheng," the other side answered.

    The three scowled upon hearing the name.

    "Bring him in!" Luan Xuan answered. He rose from his chair.

    "Luan Xuan, don’t do anything rash!" Ni Lulu exclaimed. She also rose from her chair, but strong pressure caused her to frown. "You... You have improved to the Peak Spirit Stage?"

    "You have also learned concealment art to mask it from us," Pan Lohuan added.

    Instead of confirming their statements, Luan Xuan told Ni Lulu, "Stay out of this. He is mine!"

    "You know I won’t let you do that," Ni Lulu replied. "Your cultivation might have improved, but it doesn’t mean you can defeat me!"

    "Want to put it to the test?" Luan Xuan challenged.

    "Stop it!" Pan Lohuan exclaimed. He also released his aura. Although Luan Xuan had improved to the same cultivation level as his, his aura was denser since he had been at the Peak Spirit Stage for a long time. He told the two, "Our organization has experienced a setback, and you two want to drag it further back by fighting among ourselves?"

    "Are you telling me to let it go? I can’t do that! It’s blood for blood!" Luan Xuan exclaimed.

    "I didn’t say that. He will be punished for his crime. However, don’t you think it’s odd that he came here on his own? He knows what will happen if he shows up. Yet, he still does. Let’s hear what he has to say first, all right?"

    "Hmph!" Luan Xuan harrumphed before sitting back down.

    Ni Lulu sat as well, but she watched Luan Xuan in case he tried anything.

    Not long after, the door opened, and Bu Zheng entered.

    "You have the guts to return here," Luan Xuan uttered through gritted teeth.

    Bu Zheng exchanged meaningful glances with Ni Lulu before saluting the three. He said, "Ni Zheng pays respect to the three honorable elders." He then addressed Luan Xuan specifically, "Master Luan, I can’t take back what I did to your grandson. However, if you are willing to give me a chance, I can pay off my transgression by aiding the Yellow Voice Rebels."

    "Cousin, what do you mean?" Ni Lulu asked.

    "I’m sure you are aware of the new force under the thirteenth prince formed to take you down. I am a part of that force," Ni Zheng answered.

    "You are? How did you become a part of them?" Ni Lulu asked.

    "Long story short, I was recruited. However, I am not just a common foot soldier. I have access to its commander. A colonel named Amon. He trusts me."

    "Good! If that is the case, we have an insider. You will be our eyes and ears on their operation," Pan Lohuan said.

    "If you can help us deal with this force, I’m sure we can find a way to pardon you," Ni Lulu said while looking at Luan Xuan.

    "What? Hell, no! He is not getting off that easily!" Luan Xuan exclaimed.

    "Xuan, this matter involves the survival of our organization. Surely you can put aside your personal vendetta for our cause?" Pan Lohuan said.

    Luan Xuan gritted his teeth. "Hmph! That depends on how well he performs!"

    "That settles it then," Pan Lohuan said. "Ni Zheng, go back and blend in. We will wait for your intel. If you do well, we can discuss forgiving your crime."

    "You have to be careful so no one knows about your connection with us," Ni Lulu said.

    "Oh, that’s the beautiful thing. They know I used to be a member of the rebels," Ni Zheng said.

    "Really? And they let you stay?"

    "Not only that. This Colonel Amon even asked me to reestablish contact with you. He wants me to pretend to offer myself as a spy for you. That way, he can have me give you false intel and feed him intel on you."

    "Why does he trust you so?" Luan Xuan asked.

    "I fed him a bullshit story about me fleeing the rebels because I prevented the rebels from murdering a child," Ni Zheng answered.

    "He will be awfully surprised if he learns you are my cousin," Ni Lulu said with a chuckle.

    "In that case, pretend to do as he asked," Pan Lohuan said. "When the time is right, we will use your position to send them into a trap."